Punching-machine for making nail-holes in horseshoes



(No Model.)

W. J. KENT. PUNGHING MACHINE FOR MAKING NAIL HOLES IN HORSESHOES.

No. 553,585. Patnted Jan. 28, 1895.

FIG. 7.

WITNESSES; INVENTORZ v 5 walla/c2, By his Attorneyj,

'W.hmm 65 ANDREW EGRMMM. PHOTO-UnluWASHINGTON. li-

UNITED STATES PATENT I OFFICE.

\VILLIAM J. KENT, OF BROOKLYN, NEIV YORK.

PUNCHING-MACHINE FOR MAKING NAIL-HOLES IN HORSESHOES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 553,585, dated January28, 1896. Application filed April 27, 1895. Serial No. 547,299. (Nomodel.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, \VILLIAM J. KENT, a citizen of the United States,residing at Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Punching- Machines forMaking Nail-Holes in Horseshoes and for other Purposes, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to punches and the like, particularly to thosefor such purposes as punching nail-holes in horseshoes, and aims toprovide certain improvements in such devices.

In horseshoes the holes through which are punched at predeterminedpoints by holding the shoe by hand opposite the punch above a die it isdesirable to have a guide for indicating the correct location of theshoe relatively to the punch before punching and a stripper which willaccurately draw the shoe from the punch as the latter rises. In manyinstances the punched holes are inclined relatively to the top andbottom faces of the shoe, and these faces are inclined relatively toeach other. The holes are usually punched from the bottom face to thetop face, indentations, grooves, or other means on the bottom face beingprovided to indicate the points for the holes. the shoe is usually ofrelatively hard metal, and the top or hoof face or bearing is usually ofsoft or light metal.- To hold the shoe at the desired inclination theface of the die is usually inclined relatively to the stroke of thepunch. As the latter goes through the body of the shoe there is atendency for the shoe to slip downwardly on the inclined die, and forthe punch to feed laterally so that it will strike the lower edge of thedie.

My invention provides an improved punch by means of which the shoe canbe accurately located relatively to the die and initially properlyinclined opposite the punch, and means for overcoming the slippingtendency of the shoe during punching and the displacement of the punchitself.

In carrying out the preferred form of the invention I provide on theunder face of the punch-guide a work-guide fitting into the indentationsor like, provisions on the shoe, closely surrounding the punch andserving,

Ihe bottom or working face of when the shoe is raised into engagementwith the guide prior to punching, to holdthe latter in proper positionand at the withdrawal of the punch to strip the shoe from the latterproperly; and I also provide on the bottom face of the punch-guide aface or plane extending angularly to the travel of the punch at the sameangle that the working face of the shoe occupies during the punchingoperation, against which plane the working face of the shoe can bepressed prior to punching, so that when the punch strikes it the shoewill be properly inclined; and I construct the face of the die angularly relatively to the path of the punch and corresponding in itsangularity to that of the hoof-face of the shoe, so that when the latterrests on the die it will be firmly seated thereon; and I provide forpreventing slipping of the shoe on the die by constructing the latterwith roughenings or equivalent gripping provisions which penetrate orgrip the soft metal of the shoe as the latter is forced against the dieat the commencement of the punching operation and thereby hold the shoefixedly on the die; and I further bevel the face of the punch to agreater extent on its side adjacent to the lower side of the die, sothat its tendency will be as it feeds through the metal of the shoe tobe distorted inwardly toward the higher side of the die, this tendencybeing adjusted to approximately equal the tendency to outward distortionof the punch due to the inclination of the work.

In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate certain adaptations of myimprovement, Figure 1 is a side elevation of the punch, showing itsguide and the die in axial section. Fig. 2 is a fragmentary under sideview of the punch-guide. Fig. 3 is a plan view of the die. Fig. 4 is aview corresponding to Fig. 2, but showing a modification. Fig. 5 is afragmentary view of the bottom face of a shoe-blank adapted to bepunched by the construction of punch and die shown in Fig. 1, and Fig. 6is a similar view of a construction of shoeblank which can be punched byeither the construction shown in Fig. 1 or that shown in Fig. 4.

Referring to the drawings, let A indicate a reciprocating punch; B, ahead or holder drivin g the latter; O, a guide for the punch; D, a

bracket in which the guide is formed; E, a post carrying the bracket; F,a bed on which the post E is fixed G, a die fixed in the bed oppositethe punch; H, a shoe-blank to be punched; I, the hole in the die intowhich the end of the punch A passes; J, a stripper and guide for thework; K, a starting face, stop, or guide against which the work can belocated, and L the top face of the die.

The shoe-blanks are usually formed with hard or partially-hard bottomfaces M and soft top bcaringfaces N, the construction being shown inFig. 5 and seen in section in Fig. 1, and are formed with indentations Oat the points where the nail-holes are to be provided. In someconstructions of blanks the top and bottom faces of the blank arerelatively inclined, as is the case with the blank H. (See Fig. 1.) Inthe construction shown in Fig. 6 the blank lettered H has an irregularbottom face 31, having a longitudinal groove 0" within which the holesshould be punched.

In the punching the shoe is held bottom up, passed between the punch anddie, raised until its working face is against the face K of thepunch-guide, and held in this position until the punch descends andforces the shoe against the die, against which it is held as the punchpenetrates the shoe.

According to. the preferred form of my 111- vention, as shown in Figs.1, 2, and 3, I provide the work guide and stripper J on the under faceof the bracket D preferably by forming it as a downwardly-projecting liptherefrom surrounding the punch on all sides and shaped to fit theindentations in the working face of the shoe in such manner that whenthe shoe is raised against the guide and strips per until the latter isseated in one of the punch-holes the shoe can be preserved in positionrelatively to the punch until the latter strikes it, and on the returnof the punch as the shoe is lifted by the latter the stripper will againenter the indentation and when home therein arrest the shoe, so that itwill be properly stripped from the punch as the latter continues torise. The guide and strip per is preferably a downward projection or lipclose to the punch and sufficiently elevated above the die to permit theeasy insertion of the shoe beneath it.

Another feature of improvement lies in constructing the face K with thecontour or inclination corresponding to the shape and position of theworking face of the shoe when the latter is disposed angularly of thepath of the punch to give the proper inclination of the nail-holes. Thusthis face should be parallel with the working face of the shoe when thebearing-face of the latter is seated on. the die as in punching. By thisprovision the shoe occupies the proper position when first struck by thepunch, so that it need not change its inclination in moving from the topguide to the die-face.

Another feature of improvement resides in constructing the die withgripping or other suitable provisions engaging the work and preventingits displacement during the punching. This is preferably accomplished byforming the top face L of the die with a plurality of sharp projectionsor roughenings a, which penetrate the soft bearing-face of the shoe whenthe latter is forced against the die by the punch, and thereby preventthe shoe from slipping down the inclined top L of the die. Thus the shoeis held on the die throughout the punching at substantially the sameposition relatively to the latter as it occupies when first reaching thedie.

Another improvement incident to my invention consists in constructingthe working end of the punch in such manner that the tendency to lateraldistortion by reason of the inclination of the work will beapproximately overcome by a substantially equal tendency to oppositedistortion in penetrating the work so that the punch will remain in itspath and properly enter the hole I in the die. This is accomplished byconstructing the end of the punch with a greater inclined face adjacentto the lowerside of the die and a lesser inclined face adjacent to theupper side, so

that the face of greater inclination in passing through the work tendsto feed the punch toward the upper side of the die. The relation ofthese faces is preferably that shown wherein the face Z) issubstantially twice as wide as the face 0, but the relative differencebetween the faces must be proportioned accordin g to the nature orinclination. of the work.

It will be seen that my invention provides improvements in punches whichcan be easily and advantageouslyavailed of, and it will be understoodthat the invention is not limited to the particular adaptation set forthas con stituting its preferred form, as it can be adopted according.tosuchmodifications as circumstances or the judgment of those skilled inthe art may dictate without departing f rom the spirit of the invention.

A modification is shown in Fig. 4, in which the punch-guide lettered Gtraverses the bracket lettered D, and at each side of the guide areprojections or pins J serving as the work guiding and strippingprovision. This construction can be advantageously used where holes areto be punched in shoes of the character shown in Fig. 6 having alongitudinal groove on its working face, since the pins will rest in thegroove and thereby guide the shoe-blank relatively to the punch, and bystriking the bottom of the groove as the punch rises will serve to stripthe shoe from the latter.

hat I claim is- 1. In punches and the like, areeiprocating punch, incombination with a punch-guide therefor, a bracket in which saidpunch-guide is formed, and a work guide consisting of a projection atthe side of said bracket toward the work, adjacent to the punch, at thesides of said punch-guide, and engaging the work when the latter is heldtoward said bracket ICC) and thereby locating the Work for the punchingoperation.

2. In punches and the like a reciprocating punch, a bracket traversed bya hole through which the punch moves, and a face K on said bracket, saidface inclined relatively to the path of the work, corresponding in itsinclination to the inclination of the adjacent face of the work whenbeing operated on by the punch, and engaging said face of the work priorto punching, and thereby locating the work, substantially as and for thepurpose set forth.

3. In punches and the like, a reciprocating punch and a die opposedthereto and having an inclined working face and a hole receiving thepunch, said punch having a wide beveled face on its end at its sideadjacent to the lower side of the face of the die, and a narrowoppositely beveled edge face on its side adjacent to the higher face ofthe die, whereby in penetrating the work the tendency of the punch todistortion toward the lower face of the die is overcome by the tendencyto opposite distortion as its differential faces penetrate the work.

4. In punches for punching nail holes in shoe blanks, the punch A, incombination with the bracket D having guide holes 0 through which thepunch reciprocates, guiding and stripping lip J at its lower sidesurrounding the punch, face K on its lower side against which the workto be punched can be held, and a die G opposite said punch, having aninclined and roughened face L opposed thereto, substantially as and forthe purpose set forth.

In witness whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM J. KENT.

Witnesses:

GEORGE H. FRASER, THOMAS F. WALLAcE.

